Beyond the Gates Recap, August 26, 2025: The Duprees fanned out to find Chelsea, and Allison's husband made a shocking admission

Here's what went down Tuesday, August 26, 2025 on Beyond the Gates when Vanessa ended things with Joey, Hayley's girls' night turned into another rejection by the Duprees, and Craig revealed his true connection to Allison.

What happened on Beyond the Gates

On Beyond the Gates, Hayley and Caroline finished watching a movie featuring Beyoncé and Idris Elba, with Hayley claiming she knew all the steps from one of Queen Bey's tour videos. The women dished about Idris and laughingly threw popcorn at each other, though Caroline was humbled when Hayley admitted that she couldn't be having so much fun if she was still pregnant. Caroline expressed regret for Hayley having experienced a miscarriage; Hayley was grateful to have Caroline as a friend, especially as she was still being blacklisted by the Duprees.

After Hayley stated that she was over that family and their “holier-than-thouness,” Caroline asked if that meant Hayley had no more problems with Bill spending time with Dani, like they were doing that night at Chelsea's launch. Hayley acknowledged that she couldn't freak out every time her husband and his ex functioned as co-parents; she didn't want to keep Bill from his kids.

Vanessa read an article from The Washington Sleuth on her phone about Chelsea being a no-show at her own launch, then relayed her worry to the arriving Joey. Armstrong described a problem gambler he had taken care of at the casino and asked why Vanessa had summoned him. After hesitating, Vanessa suggested that she and Joey “pull back from whatever this is.” The realtor felt that she couldn't stand by while Joey destroyed Doug's life. Joey knew that his being dangerous was the reason that Vanessa couldn't stay away from him.

Joey charged Vanessa with only pretending to be ready for their heat, despite her big talk. Vanessa swore that their relationship had been real, but Joey retorted that Vanessa wanted the thrill without the consequence. The casino owner told Vanessa she could walk, but couldn't promise that he would still be interested when she inevitably came back to him – though he did assert that Doug's poor life choices weren't his issue. When Joey remarked that Vanessa knew about his operation and that he didn't like loose ends, Vanessa thought he was threatening her. Joey maintained that he wasn't...and that Vanessa would be back.

Tyrell and Smitty fretted over Chelsea not showing up at her launch, with the teen noting that questioning comments were blowing up on her Instagram feed. Smitty couldn't get anything else out of the family group chat except that Chelsea was officially a missing person. Samantha came home from the cancelled ChelseaKat launch along with Martin, who was on the phone trying to learn more from Nicole; the psychiatrist told her son how much Dani and Naomi were suffering. Martin wanted to help and cited his high-tech contacts, through which Chelsea's digital footprint could be traced. After he hung up with his mom, Martin told Smitty, Samantha and Tyrell that all signs led to Chelsea having been kidnapped.

As Smitty was an investigative reporter, Samantha wanted him to put his skills to use finding Chelsea. Martin grabbed his keys to head for his grandparents' house, and Smitty agreed with the kids that he should accompany his husband. Martin consented, grateful for the extra assistance.

Anita and Vernon were on their way out to meet Buck Buchanan, Vernon's FBI contact. Dani's parents promised her that Chelsea would be back. Bill saw Dani looking at baby pictures of Chelsea on her phone and stopped her when she pondered why she had been so hard on their daughter – yet the attorney acknowledged that he hadn't been very present for Chelsea himself. Dani listened as Bill denied Chelsea's persistent claim that he preferred Naomi over her; when Bill put his arm around Dani to comfort her, Andre walked in and saw the gesture.

Caroline convinced Hayley to call Bill, who told her about Chelsea's probable kidnapping. Hayley wanted to be with her husband while his daughter was missing, but Bill advised her not to come to the Dupree mansion, as it would complicate matters. Bill hung up on Hayley abruptly, then told Dani he was sure Chelsea could outsmart a crazed fan. After mentioning that Allison was more than that, Dani put it together that Bill didn't know Allison had broken Chelsea's heart. Bill reeled at the news.

Hayley was upset that, as Bill's wife and Chelsea's stepmother, she couldn't be with Bill during the crisis. Caroline cautioned Hayley as she readied to leave, but Hayley declared, “the Duprees don't decide when I get to show up for my husband. Not now...not ever.”

The Duprees met with Buck at Uptown after briefly glimpsing Vanessa there with Joey (“I don't even wanna know what that's about,” Vernon smirked.) Anita cut into Vernon and Buck's reminiscing, and Buck was brought up to speed on Chelsea having vanished. “We're Duprees – we don't do failure,” Anita crowed to Buck when he suggested that Chelsea might have skipped her event over fear of not succeeding. Buck saw that Chelsea had registered no bank activity and that her socials had gone dark; Vernon asserted that Chelsea not posting regularly would be like “the sun not rising at daybreak.”

Buck wanted to know more about Allison and held that the FBI would need more information before it could take definitive action – yet Buck assured the Duprees that they would be ready to move as soon as they came across something solid.

Naomi worked on a case, telling Nicole that she couldn't let her single-mother client lose her house over becoming consumed by Chelsea's disappearance. Nicole realized that Naomi was trying to counteract her feelings of helplessness over her sister's kidnapping by controlling something else. Naomi saw her aunt's point and confessed that, unlike in court, she couldn't think of anything to do to help the situation; she cried in Nicole's arms that she couldn't fix things for her baby sister.

As Jacob, Kat, and Madison discussed the apparent fact that Allison had gone out of her way to cover her tracks, Madison remembered Allison's husband Craig, and Kat found a contact for Craig on Chelsea's phone. There was no number, but Kat was able to DM Craig on social media, hoping he could lead them to Chelsea. Naomi joined the digital search; they all found photos of Craig with other women, but none with Allison, deducing that Allison and Craig's throuple situation had involved many others besides Chelsea. Jacob ran Craig's name through his channels.

Bill discovered that outsider Madison hadn't gone home; Madison reported that she was helping to scour social media accounts. When Craig contacted Kat, she and Jacob ran out to meet him, leaving Bill alone with Madison. The lawyer weighed which was worse: Chelsea's disappearance or knowing so little about her life. Later, Bill and Dani made their plea for Chelsea's release, which Vanessa and various family members caught thanks to Andre's live stream. Hayley entered and saw Bill holding Dani's hand as they lobbied for the safe return of their daughter.

Nicole and Naomi blocked Hayley in the foyer, chastising her for what they viewed as Hayley making Chelsea's emergency about her. Naomi fumed that Hayley hadn't been there for Chelsea in the lead-up to the launch or as she navigated her sexual identity. Bill and Dani heard the argument as they wrapped up the live stream, with Bill stressing that Hayley had been asked not to come. Privately, Hayley resented Bill for ordering her to stay away as if she were one of his employees. She felt that supporting her husband during his time of need was more important than what the Duprees thought about it.

Bill saw Hayley's point, but he wanted Hayley to see his former in-laws' perspective as well, since much of what they'd been through in recent months had been because of them. Hayley didn't like that Bill had been holding Dani's hand “like it was the most natural thing in the world,” or that he had acted as if Dani was still his wife. Bill contended that Chelsea's being missing wasn't about them, but Hayley stood firm that there was supposed to be a them and said that Bill turned into a different person when the Duprees snapped their fingers.

Mr. Hamilton said he wasn't trying to push Mrs. Hamilton away – he was trying to protect her, and she made things difficult at times. Hayley was hurt but reminded Bill that someone needed to be on his side when he was busy being on everyone else's. “I'm just so scared for her, Hayley,” Bill finally admitted, letting down his wall. Hayley hugged him and comforted him.

When Craig arrived at Orphey Gene's, Kat name-dropped her family to him, but he was unimpressed. Jacob and Kat were astonished when Craig revealed that he wasn't Allison's husband, or even her boyfriend; Kat didn't believe it, but Jacob's people at the department proved that no marriage certificate for Craig existed. Craig got weirded out and wanted to leave until Jacob whipped out his badge. Kat demanded information about Allison; Craig confessed that Allison had hired him to pose as her husband so she could manipulate Chelsea into a throuple with them.

Craig divulged that Allison had taken him and Chelsea to different hotels for every encounter, and that Allison had been obsessed with Chelsea. He avowed that, had he sensed Allison was capable of kidnapping Chelsea, he would have stopped her. Jacob was stunned to hear that Allison had acquired Craig through Heart Attach Escort Service – Joey's company.

“You call being a man whore legitimate?” Kat jeered when Craig was reluctant to involve himself further. “I'm not just worried about losing my job, if you get what I'm saying,” Craig told Jacob, fearing Joey's reaction if he revealed private client details. When Kat and Jacob guaranteed that Craig's name would be kept out of everything, Craig showed Jacob the database through which Allison had booked him, and Jacob and Kat worked to corroborate its dates and times with Chelsea's activities.

Once Craig left, Kat was certain they had enough leads, but Jacob worried that Joey's ties to the department could slow down any attempt to get a warrant. “How corrupt are you people?” Kat asked accusingly before Jacob made some calls to push the warrant through. With Jacob's back turned, Kat decided “my bestie doesn't have time for warrants” and took off to find Chelsea on her own.

At the cabin, Chelsea remained chained while Allison decried Chelsea ruining Allison's specially curated dinner by throwing it over the table. Chelsea yelled that Allison, knowing her favorite things from her social media, didn't make them a love story. “This isn't love – it's psychotic!” Chelsea shrieked, condemning Allison for having her chained up “like we're in a low-budget horror movie.” Allison labeled Chelsea dramatic and said she was missing the bigger picture – their time together was a chance to reconnect. But Chelsea kicked Allison, who was kneeling to clean up the broken dishes, over onto the floor.

Allison couldn't believe Chelsea was being so obstinate and wanted her gratitude. She then produced “our special bracelet,” which Allison contended Chelsea had worn in her photo shoots to let Allison know she was thinking of her. Chelsea didn't know what Allison was talking about and refused to eat the apple her abductor offered, which was the only edible left after Chelsea had wrecked the meal. Allison announced that, since Chelsea was being so stubborn, there was only one thing left to do – make love.

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Chelsea screamed for help while Allison changed into a silk negligée, which Allison had bought after Chelsea had extolled the virtues of silk on her socials. Allison had gotten Chelsea a matching nighty, but Chelsea didn't want Allison touching her; she recoiled as Allison persisted that they were meant to be. Allison reflected on all the hotels where they'd made love with Craig, and separately, but when Allison moved in to kiss Chelsea, the kidnap victim bit Allison's lip, drawing blood. “Did Madison teach you that?” Allison growled, deciding that if Chelsea wanted to play rough, she could play rough as well. With that, Allison grabbed Chelsea by the hair as Chelsea shouted for her to stop.

Beyond the Gates airs weekdays on CBS and streams on Paramount Plus.

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